Chapter Eleven

Mel felt like she had the words “wanton woman” stamped across her forehead as she sat at her parents’ dining room table on Sunday, sans Adam. He’d left her house earlier in the day, telling her it was probably best for them to not be seen together so soon after doing the deed. Given how her skin felt imprinted with his every touch and kiss, that was probably true.

Besides, today was weird enough as it was. Sunday dinners at the Bryant house were never this…quiet. Something was definitely up.

Finally, her mother broke the tension. “We have a surprise. James is coming home a day early! August thirteenth. So he’ll be able to come to your party.”

At first, Mel was too stunned to speak. Finally, she said, “What? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Looking forward to getting home and getting settled in again.” Her dad smiled. “Be great to have him around again, huh?”

“Yeah. Great.” She slumped back in her seat. Not that she wasn’t glad to have her brother home, safe and sound. She was. But things had just started to blossom between her and Adam. She didn’t need the reminder of how soon it would all be over. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the weight of her mother’s stare. “What time is he arriving on the thirteenth?”

“Not sure. You can ask him yourself,” her mother said, cutting up more of her food. “He’s due to call any minute.”

Ugh. She wasn’t ready to talk to James yet. Not after spending the last two nights in his best friend’s arms. Mel pushed to her feet and picked up her half-finished plate, heading for the kitchen. “I’m not very hungry.”

The phone rang as she was dumping the remains of her dinner into the trash.

Her parents’ cheerful voices echoed through the room, and Mel cringed. She had to tell James, but part of her wanted to keep the secret a little bit longer. To stay in their blissful bubble of solitude and not deal with the outside world or their deadline just yet.

Unfortunately, that decision was taken out of her hands when her mother walked into the kitchen, holding out the cell phone to Mel. “James wants to talk to you privately.”

Mel nodded and took it reluctantly, ducking out into the backyard where she wouldn’t be overheard. She stalked to the far side of the grassy area, near the flowering hedges, and sat on the cold stone bench there. Forcing a smile, Mel did her best to sound like her usual sunny self. “Hey, James. What’s up?”

“What the hell’s going on with Adam?” James’s tone was an odd mix of anger and worry.

Uh-oh.

“How should I know?” she said, hoping the lie sounded more convincing than it felt. “I haven’t seen him lately.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

He knew? How could he know? Her heart tumbled to her toes, and she cleared her throat in case there was something that gave away the fact that she’d lost her virginity with Adam.

“A couple of guys from the garage saw you two riding around on Adam’s bike yesterday.”

A bit of weight lifted from Mel’s chest, and she inhaled much much-needed oxygen. Okay. James didn’t know about their “project.” She’d just been seen on Adam’s bike. No biggie. She’d make up some excuse, but all wasn’t lost. Not yet, anyway.

“I tried to talk to him earlier, but he blew me off,” James continued. “So now I’m coming to you.”

“Oh. Uh…” She fumbled fast for words. “My car isn’t, um, working. Adam happened to drive by while I was in my driveway and saw I needed help. He offered to give me a ride. That’s all. Sorry. We didn’t really talk much, though.”

“Hmm.” Her brother sounded thoroughly unconvinced, darn him. “Did that ride involve kissing you on your front porch, too?”

“What?” Mel felt frozen and numb. Then outrage, hot and fierce, spurned her onward. “Are you spying on me?”

“Are you dating Adam?” The counterquestion came out more as an accusation.

“If I am, why would it be any of your business?” Unfortunately, the words didn’t come out as stalwart as she’d wanted. She knew darned well why James would consider it his business. Because of Victory Vets. This is exactly why Adam hadn’t wanted to get involved with her. Still, she couldn’t afford to panic. She needed to think clearly and rationally about this until she could talk to Adam later. “I don’t know what people are telling you, but Adam and I are just friends, James. He was helping me out. That’s all.”

Seconds ticked by in agonizing silence.

“Does this have anything to do with your makeover? If this is another one of Lilly’s crazy projects, I swear to God I will—”

“You’ll what?” Mel covered her face with her hands, forcing herself to stay calm. “Seeing as how you’re half a world away right now, there isn’t much you can do.”

“I’m coming home soon,” James said, in true big-brother fashion. “And I want the truth.”

“The truth, huh?” Mel wandered to the far side of the yard, out of earshot of their parents’ home. With everything else that had happened that weekend, and her emotions still in a jumble, the last thing she needed was to take crap from her brother. She was half tempted to spout that old movie line about him not being able to handle the truth but went a different route instead.

“Let’s talk about the truth, James. From what I can see, the truth is you’ve lived the last eight years an ocean away from here, met people, done things. The most exciting thing I’ve done is go away to college two towns over and work with the people of Point Beacon on a daily basis. I decided to give myself a makeover because I needed a change. That’s the truth. Lilly helped a little. Adam did, too.”

“I bet he did.”

“Stop being an ass,” she snapped, her patience at the breaking point. “Finding people to date around here is hard, James. Most of the guys in Point Beacon aren’t exactly cream of the crop, if you know what I mean. Me being the local librarian doesn’t put me on the top of these guys’ most-wanted list, either. I needed people to see me differently, okay? I needed a chance to live.”

James gave an aggrieved sigh. “What did you do?”

“Adam took me to Indy. I had an appointment with the stylist Lilly uses on her photo shoots, then we had lunch and did some shopping. That’s it. Adam gave me advice, on dating and stuff.” She bit her lip, warring over whether or not to mention their second trip to Indy. Given the small-town rumor mill at play, he’d find out soon enough anyway. Better to put it all out there now. Well, almost all of it. “This past Friday, he took me to the Tipsy Wench—at my request—for practice. He kept an eye on me.”

“That better be all he had on you.” James gave a heavy sigh, his voice tight with tension. “I’m trying to protect you, sis. Adam’s avoiding me. He’s a player. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I don’t need your protection. I won’t get hurt.” Mel hated lying to her brother. The truth was, she feared her heart might be shattered once James came home and she and Adam went their separate ways, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t continue to enjoy what time they had left together. “Stay out of this, James. You have no right to tell me and Adam what to do and—”

“What are you two fighting about now?” her mother said, walking out into the yard, followed closely by her dad.

“We could hear you shouting from the dining room, sweetie,” Dad said, his hands on his hips. “And if I can hear you, I’m sure the neighbors can, too.”

The day keeps getting better and better.

“Let me talk to Dad,” James said.

Mel rubbed her scratchy, sleep-deprived eyes. Out of patience and out of time, she played the one wild hunch she had left, keeping her voice low to avoid her parents overhearing. “You say one word to them about any of this, and I’ll blab what I know about that night between you and Lilly before you shipped out for Afghanistan. I don’t know everything, but I know enough.”

That shut James up, for once, confirming that there was indeed history between him and her best friend. Good. She wasn’t the only one with secrets to hide.

“I mean it.” Mel kept her voice low as her parents moved closer. “Promise me.”

Her brother exhaled slowly. “Fine. But once I get back in town—”

“Talk to you later, bro,” Mel said with her fakest cheerful tone, the same one she used on the grumpiest senior patrons at the library. She thrust the phone receiver into her dad’s hands, then kissed both of her parents on the cheek before racing back into the house and out the front door.

She couldn’t handle this. Not today.

The right thing would’ve been to end things with Adam and move on with her life. Their deadline was looming anyway, and he’d made it clear from the start that this was only temporary for him, but she’d grown so addicted to having him close she wasn’t sure she could let him go.

Walking would help. It always did. Sunshine prickled her skin, and a warm breeze cooled her heated cheeks. The air was filled with the smells of freshly mowed grass and fertilizer and the sounds of kids playing basketball. Thankfully, there’d be no Bryant family dinner next Sunday, since her mom and dad were going to be in Indy to prep for Mel’s birthday party and now James’s welcome-home celebration.

Ugh. James. He meant well, but this was her life, her mistake to make. Her connection with Adam felt like a once-in-a-lifetime bond. If she didn’t explore that, Mel would regret it forever. And yes, Adam’s reputation preceded him. He’d earned the title of bad boy honestly, with his serial dating and womanizing. They’d spent two incredible nights together now, and she hoped to continue that at least until her brother came home. Originally, she’d been terrified of dying a virgin. Now that she’d been with Adam, she feared losing her one shot at love, of not being enough for him, of never being enough for someone else ever.

They had two weeks left until James came home. Two weeks until reality would return and smack them all upside the head. Two weeks for her to spend all the time she could with Adam and figure out if he’d meant what he’d said about not doing love…or if there was a possible future between them.

…

Monday had Adam watching the clock.

Which was weird because he’d never had a problem keeping his mind on the job before. But now his thoughts were filled with Mel. What he’d told her that first morning they’d woken up together hadn’t been a lie. She was truly amazing. Kind, sweet, passionate. Adventurous, too.

The grin he’d struggled to suppress all morning broke loose. Why, just last night she’d cracked open that Cosmo sex book of hers—the surprisingly naughty one from her coffee table—and asked him to try some “variations” with her. He loved how open and trusting she was with him—her eagerness, playfulness, responsiveness. Most of all, he loved how a jaded player like him had learned some new tricks, too, after all these years. With Mel.

My Mel.

But he didn’t love her. He didn’t do love. That had always been his motto, his mantra.

Sure, he liked her. A lot. More than he’d ever liked another woman.

But love? Nah. No. Wasn’t possible. He’d been careful.

He shook off the crazy thoughts and frowned down at the Hemi V8 he was still rebuilding. Besides, she wasn’t “his Mel.” Never would be.

God, what was happening to him? Mel deserved a man who could provide her with the kind of life she deserved, take care of her. A man who would be able to give her his whole heart. Adam wasn’t sure he even had a heart to give anymore, his had been so battered. In the past, he’d never worried about it, but now he found himself wondering if he could be that kind of man for Mel.

More importantly, would she even want him to try?

Adam wasn’t sure. He’d made his position on their project clear at the start, and Mel had never mentioned changing their deal or taking what they had between them to the next level. He’d agreed to help her find a guy, someone she could date and possibly marry one day. Adam doubted he’d ever marry. Not after the disaster he’d witnessed between his own parents. And sure, the union between the Bryants was different, which gave him an inkling of hope, but yeah. He didn’t feel comfortable asking at this point.

Dammit. He set his tools aside, his fingers coated in thick black grease. Then there was the fact that he’d been playing phone tag with James since Sunday morning. The guy suspected something, Adam was sure. And if that wasn’t an omen of how stupid it was for him to wish for more than he deserved, he didn’t know what was.

The phone at Victory Vets rang again, as if on cue, and Adam clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm. He hated acting like such a coward, but he couldn’t blurt out that he was sleeping with James’s little sister over the phone. That would definitely end their friendship and put Adam’s entire future in jeopardy.

Luckily, Miguel answered the call instead. When he glanced over, Adam shook his head, and Miguel came up with yet another excuse about him not being available. It was BS, but James could sniff out a lie at twenty paces. All the more reason to keep his distance, until he and Mel got their situation worked out.

With a sigh, Adam looked at the clock again, counting down the minutes to lunch. Mel had left him with a kiss and smile early that morning, asking Adam to meet her at the new sushi place on the town square as he’d walked out her door. He’d happily agreed; the only thing throwing him was her mention of it being a “date.”

The wise thing to do would be to take her to lunch today and make sure they were both on the same page. This was temporary. Just practice. She’d move on, and he’d go back to the way things had been before. Adam rubbed the aching spot on his chest. It shouldn’t bother him, but it did. For a man who’d lived most of his life on the wrong side of the tracks, having a brief respite from the gutter only made it that much harder to return.

“Dude.” Miguel slapped Adam on the back as he walked past. “Time for a lunch break.”

He wiped his hands on a grimy towel nearby. He’d drive himself nuts if he kept in his own head much longer. After scrubbing up, he grabbed his wallet from the office safe, then headed down the block. Mel was waiting for him when he arrived. Without thinking, Adam leaned in to kiss her, only to have her pull away fast. His gut knotted with unexpected hurt.

“Sorry.” Color swarmed Mel’s cheeks. “We don’t want people to gossip, right?”

“Right,” Adam mumbled as he followed her inside Fukiyama’s. The bells above the door jangled merrily, and every eye in the place seemed to turn in their direction at once. The restaurant was decorated nice enough, with white linen tablecloths and cheesy artwork on the walls. About three-quarters of the seats were full. An assortment of Point Beacon’s elite stared at them—the mayor and his wife, the high school principal and her assistant, the bank manager. Adam’s gut clenched. Part of him wanted to turn tail and run for the safe cover of Victory Vets. Most of these people had had run-ins with his family at one time or another over the years, or else they’d given the Fosters their charity.

You’re a respected business owner now.

The hostess led him and Mel over to a quiet booth in the back of the place, and Adam kept his head down and his mouth shut as they took their seats. Several people called out greetings. Mel answered them back. Adam did not. He’d learned a long time ago that keeping your mouth shut and your profile low saved a lot of heartache in the end. If only he’d listened to his own advice where Mel was concerned.

The waitress came and took their orders, and he sat back at last, allowing some of the tension in his shoulders to relax. He should enjoy this time together. They were getting near the end of things, so he should cherish what they had left. Nothing should spoil this lunch. Not the prying eyes of their small town. Not thoughts of James. Not even his own damned insecurities.

Adam smiled over at Mel as the server retuned with their drinks—iced tea for her and a soda for him. Mel smiled back, and his whole world brightened. There might be hell to pay later for them being together, but right now Adam couldn’t bring himself to care. All that mattered was her happiness. And if Adam had to swallow his pride and his fear to make that happen, then that’s what he’d do.

No matter the cost.